


to gain a son

by Russy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amputation, Anakin Skywalker Has Issues, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Awesome R2-D2 (Star Wars), BAMF Darth Vader, BAMF Luke Skywalker, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader Redemption, Darth Vader's A+ parenting, Emperor Darth Vader, Escape, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jedi Luke Skywalker, Lightsaber Battles, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Luke Skywalker Needs A Hug, Mentioned Obi-Wan Kenobi, Minor Character Death, OOC Darth Vader, Parent Darth Vader, Parent-Child Relationship, Past Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Possessive Anakin Skywalker, Prince Luke Skywalker, Protective Darth Vader, Revelations, Sith Anakin Skywalker, Skywalker Family Drama, Skywalker Family Feels, Suitless Darth Vader, The Force, Vaderkin, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25019218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Russy/pseuds/Russy
Summary: After falling into a trap laid by the Empire and being captured by two Inquisitors, Luke Skywalker wakes up in an unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar man watching over him.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Comments: 104
Kudos: 567





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! For those of you who might have read my works before, I know I've written something fairly similar in my Luke & Vader oneshots book, but I wanted to tackle this theme again, because I love Emperor Vader AND Suitless Vader (might have something to do with the fact that Anakin is HOT, and also that it makes him, from my point of view, more human and I like exploring his possible relationship with Luke in this direction, too) and this fic basically came into my head fully formed, so here it is.

Luke Skywalker was running faster than ever before in his life, skipping over the lifeless bodies of Stormtroopers and Rebel soldiers alike. He turned right at the end of the corridor, gripping his deactivated saber until his knuckles whitened at the motion and his palm stung from being dug into the ridges of the handle, and dared to steal a glance over his shoulder without slowing down. He grunted, continuing to run as he spotted the Inquisitor, Seventh Sister, chasing after him, not even 50 meters behind, the alarms still blaring, shining red all over the base.

The mission had gone so exceedingly, spectacularly wrong. They’d received a transmission from one of the moons of Endor, alerting the Alliance about a high security, secret Imperial detention center housing important political detainees that had vouched for the restoration of the Republic, most of which had been proven to be Rebel sympathizers at the very least. After finding out about the supposed prison, the Rebellion organized both an aerial and terrestrial attack in order to rescue the detainees, however they were met with an ambush of both TIE Fighters in the air and AT-ATs on the ground.

Realizing that not only were they highly outnumbered and extremely likely to lose, but that there were also no political detainees on the planet, General Madine had called for a fallback less than an hour after the beginning of the battle. Luke, who was currently convinced that he had chosen the worst possible moment to be on the ground team instead of in air support, like he usually was, was scrambling towards the western exit of the base in hopes of reaching the shuttle they had arrived in before the Imperials did. He was now certain that the Empire had more moles in the Alliance than High Command even realized, because the Inquisitors were evidently here for him. He’d run into three of them already, and he’d managed to subdue two of them, but still had Seventh Sister hot on his heels, at which point he had realized that his best bet was to try to outrun her and the rest of the Stormtroopers that were still left alive if he wanted to make it to the transport before Imperial reinforcements arrived.

He’d been the Empire’s most wanted criminal for months now, both because he was a Jedi and because he had destroyed the Death Star. There was a 6 billion credits, alive only bounty on his head, and the Inquisitors were also regularly sent to hunt him down. He had engaged most of them in both dogfights and lightsaber duels on many occasions, sometimes only narrowly managing to escape capture.

The Force drummed in his ears alongside his heartbeat, warning him in a morbid anticipation that he pointedly tried to ignore, willing his legs to move faster as he rounded another corner, sweat beading on his forehead. Luke panted, letting out a relieved breath once he realized that at the end of the corridor he had just entered was the exit that would take him to the shuttle, he could almost taste the relief of having escaped yet again, the adrenaline surging through his body.

Abruptly, the Force rung out sharply, dulling the blaring onset of the alarms and making Luke stumble in his path, almost sending him tumbling over the body of a soldier spread out on the floor. Quickly, he regained his footing and, hearing the familiar snap – hiss of a lightsaber activating, he ignited his own weapon, raising it in mid – air in order to parry a blow coming from the… _Grand Inquisitor_?

He frowned, dodging another blow from the Pau’an before going on the offensive. He had to think of a way to get out of this, and fast. Out of all the Inquisitorius, the Grand Inquisitor was the best duelist, Luke knew, and having crossed blades with almost all of them before, he also knew that he was the one who had the best chance at subduing him.

The Grand Inquisitor snarled as he dodged Luke’s blow, his yellow eyes glowering sharply down at him. The Force reverberated again, and Luke turned around instinctively, barely managing to defend himself against a blow from the Seventh Sister, who had caught up to them and was now aiding her master.

Luke mostly managed to parry the attacks of the two Inquisitors for a couple of minutes, not really being able to land many hits of his own. As his saber crossed with that of the Grand Inquisitor, Luke seemed to have gained the upper hand, when suddenly Seventh Sister lunged towards him, and before he even had the chance to defend himself, she had sliced his right hand off, disarming him and sending him to his knees.

Luke let out a pained, guttural shriek from the back of his throat as he collapsed to his knees, tears running over his face while he clutched the bloodied wrist to his chest with his left hand. He felt sick to the pit of his stomach and his ears were ringing, blocking out all other sounds. His vision was starting to get blurry and darkened, yet in his haze he could distinguish the Grand Inquisitor scream something about the Emperor – about Luke not being harmed - and backhanding Seventh Sister so hard that she flew across the floor, snarling up at him, blood gathering on her mouth and dribbling down her chin.

He shut his eyes tightly for a moment, sobbing as another excruciating wave of pain made its way through his stump. He looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor, seeing the Grand Inquisitor reach onto his belt and procure a blaster, looking down at him in cold indifference as he hit him with a stun bolt.

* * *

Luke awoke slowly, feeling a foggy, hazy film coating his mind. He opened his eyes, half expecting to be either met with the dizzying brightness of a med bay or the musky darkness of a holding cell. He was met by neither of those things, but instead by the warm, gentle light of a large bedroom. He was laying down on a soft, plush bed and had blankets pulled up to his chest. He lifted his right hand then, slowly, expecting to be met with the bloodied mess he’d seen of it before he lost consciousness. Instead, what he saw was a black metal prosthetic, and the place where it met his arm was wrapped in a sterile bandage smelling of bacta.

“There was no slynthskin available in the medical bay on such short notice, but we’ll get you some in a few days, if you want.” A voice came from the corner of the room, making Luke nearly jump out of his skin. He was so tired he hadn’t even noticed there was another person in the room with him, but now that he paid attention, he could also distinguish another, more powerful, colder Force signature wrapped around his own in a protective shell.

Luke turned his head, noticing that the man who had spoken was seated in an armchair at the foot of the bed, scrutinizing him closely. His eyes instantly widened and he inhaled sharply, alarmed, it couldn’t be… _no? Could it?_

Even though Luke had never seen him in person before, and in most holos he appeared only with a hood pulled over his face, this was, without a shadow of a doubt, Emperor Vader. He was dressed in black expensive looking robes and he had a lightsaber hanging off of his belt. He had shoulder length, dark blond hair streaked with gray at the temples and a youthful, angular face with a strong jaw and a cleft chin. There was a thin scar crossing through the corner of one of his bright blue eyes, which were focused intensely on the Rebel Commander laid out on the bed in front of him.

“I must apologize for the fact that you were injured earlier today,” Vader continued, “it is not my intention to see you harmed. I should inform you that the Seventh Sister was disposed of for her foolhardy actions, and that the Grand Inquisitor has lost both of his hands in retaliation for permitting his apprentice to maim you.”

Luke frowned, Vader’s words – as surprising as they were – only half registering in his mind. He had expected that, if the Empire ever were to capture him, he would be tortured, humiliated, killed, perhaps even publicly, not… _this…_

Vader noticed Luke’s confusion, raising a brow at him in return.

“What is it?” he asked.

Luke swallowed, not quite daring to meet his eyes “Why don’t you… why don’t you just… _kill me_ already?”

“ _Kill you_?” It was Vader’s turn to frown now, standing up from his chair, “I would never kill you, Luke, I’ve told you I have no intention of harming you. You are the most important person in the Galaxy. I have been waiting for you for months now, young one, I want you by my side… I _always_ have.”

“I - I don’t… I don’t understand…” Luke stammered.

“No, I imagined you would not. Tell me Luke,” he asked, stepping closer to the bed, “what do you know of your father?”

“I…” Luke managed to mumble something under his breath that was barely comprehensive even to him, he was even more disoriented now than he had been before.

“Go on,” Vader said.

“I… uh… Master Obi – Wan said that he was a Jedi Knight, his student. That you killed him.”

Vader scowled, crossing his arms.

“Another one of Kenobi’s lies, then, as expected.” He sighed, before moving to perch on the edge of the bed, “Your father is not dead, Luke.”

Luke furrowed his brows, staring up at the Emperor, confusion written all over his features.

“I have not killed your father, little one. _I_ am your father.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So I've seen some of you have said I should continue this AU, and here it is! I am super grateful for all the support, but fair warning that I don't really know what direction this AU is heading to (yet?)  
> Enjoy!

Luke awoke sluggishly, stretching his arms and yawning. His wrist was still sore, and it occasionally sent sharp spikes of pain through his forearm if he moved it too suddenly, but taking into consideration the fact that his hand had just been amputated not even 48 hours before, he thought he was _handling_ things quite well, especially considering his current predicament. The sensations he could feel with his new prosthetic were as close to the real thing as you could get, and the motions were smooth and well-coordinated. The prosthetic was pretty much flawless, probably one of the best credits could buy. It had to be, he realized, considering it was the Emperor who had provided him with it.

Emperor Vader… his father. The man who had been hunting him down incessantly for months, all throughout the Galaxy, not to murder or torture him, as Luke had thought, but just to… _get him_. The revelation had definitely been shocking for Luke, he’d vehemently denied that such a thing could ever be possible, screaming and sobbing. Vader, thankfully, had not been overcome by rage at Luke’s reaction, but rather, he had looked as if he’d expected it, and he’d urged his son to search his feelings, saying he would _know_ Vader’s revelation to be true.

When he had done just as Vader had asked of him, the Force immediately started to hum in agreement to the Emperor’s statement, and even beyond that, Luke realized, he did resemble Vader quite a lot. Although he was shorter by at least a head, and his face was rounder, less angular, he still had the same dark blond hair, thick brows, blue eyes and cleft chin.

After his more than slightly begrudging acceptance of his newly discovered father, Vader had dinner brought up to him, and after a med droid did a checkup of his prosthetic to make sure it was functioning properly, his father had left, claiming that due to his recently sustained injury, Luke should rest as much as he could. Although he was thankful to be free of Vader’s presence, Luke hadn’t been able to stay awake for more than an hour, at most, before sleep overtook him.

His emotions were all over the place, Luke realized, and he hadn’t really had the chance to reach out into the Force and meditate either. The fact that, at least outwardly, Vader hadn’t seemed nearly as _evil_ as he had previously painted him to be (yet) was more than a little bit confusing, especially since the man had been nothing but civil and cordial, if somewhat imposing. One thing was certain, Luke knew, Vader could have very well been so tame with him just to lure him in easier, to make him accept him faster. He needed to come up with a good escape plan to get back to the Alliance, maybe one that would help him obtain some highly classified Imperial information, too, because he was sure that Vader would never, _ever_ let him go now that he had him, and certainly not back to the Rebellion.

That was, of course, easier said than done, because physical traits were not the only thing that Luke shared with his father. Because they were father and son, and because they were also probably the two most powerful Force sensitives in the Galaxy, they shared a strong mental link as well, on that had been triggered the moment Luke realized Vader was telling the truth. While he was usually pretty good at shielding, Luke found it unusually difficult to shield his thoughts and emotions from his father, and in his haze he hadn’t even realized he’d been projecting his thoughts about finding an escape route last night until the Emperor had leveled him with a stern, unimpressed gaze.

“I suggest you set aside whatever foolish plans of escape you intend to come up with, young one.” he’d said “It is highly unlikely that you will succeed or that you will not be caught again, and I assure you that you will be punished for it.”

Luke had blushed to the tips of his ears at that, and he’d shuffled back closer into his bedsheets, resolving to pay special attention to his shielding. That had proven somewhat difficult, because, much to his chagrin, the Force bond he shared with Vader felt very natural – probably because it was – and he had to strain in order to reign in his thoughts, his general emotions still managing to remain pretty much transparent to his father.

Looking to his right towards the curtain covered window that let thin strips of daylight into the room, Luke sighed, getting up and heading towards the fresher that was attached to his room. After getting out of the refresher that was decked with a real water shower, instead of a sonic one like he was accustomed to using, he got dressed from the full wardrobe that sat in one of the corner of the room. The wardrobe was full of some of the most expensive looking clothing Luke had ever seen, let alone worn. Most of them were either black or other dark colors, and he noticed that they all fit him frighteningly well, from underwear to boots.

Soon, he heard a knock at the door, and Vader let himself in without waiting to be invited. He paused in the now open doorway, leaning on his shoulder against the doorframe and studying Luke for a moment.

Luke looked up at his father, and after a brief moment of silence he spoke, “Do not tell me that you’ve had a spy whose sole purpose was to sneak into my bunk at the Alliance base just to tell you what size clothes I wear.”

The Emperor cocked his head to a side, and Luke thought that something akin to amusement appeared in his eyes, the corner of his lips twitching upwards.

“I think you already know the answer to that.” he said, “Come, I have something for you.”

Confused, Luke followed his father out of the bedroom and into a hallway that lead to a large, nicely furnished living room. One wall of the room was completely made out of transparisteel, offering a view of the thousands of buildings below them. There was a table to one side which looked like it was used for dining, and in the middle of the room there were two plush armchairs and a couch, and in a corner sat…

“ _Artoo?_ ” Luke asked, bolting towards the astromech who had started letting out excited streams of binary once he’d noticed him.

“They found him in a Rebel shuttle on the Endor moon,” Vader said, looking towards his son who had knelt in front of the droid and was currently making sure he was unharmed, “he was fine, aside from the fact that his booster rockets were off.”

“Artoo has _booster rockets_?”

“You didn’t know?” Vader said, accompanied by a positive hoot from the droid.

Luke shook his head, frowning, “How did _you_ know?”

“Artoo was my astromech during the Clone Wars.”

“I… really?” he asked, surprised.

“Yes, come along now”, the Emperor said, turning to march out of the room and down the hallway they had come through. He didn’t look back, but Luke followed, unsure of what else he could do, and when he glanced down, noticing that Artoo was coming with him as well, an inkiling of hope rose in his chest, because he realized that he might just have a better chance of escaping than he’d thought.


	3. Chapter 3

“Again,” came Vader’s voice, ringing clearly through the training room.

Luke growled softly under his breath, sweat gathering on his brow, and raised his newly recovered saber to meet the attacks coming from the two training droids. It’s been two days since his father had obtained him, and now he had taken it upon himself to continue his training.

The Emperor’s training was… difficult, to say the least. While Luke was used to at least practice his katas daily, save perhaps if he was otherwise incapacitated, this was entirely different. Vader had first made him run laps and do push-ups (which he was required to repeat if he didn’t do them correctly), saying they would help improve his stamina, and now he had set him up against what Luke was sure where two of the most vicious battle droids available in the Core.

What surprised Luke the most, though, was that his father had given him back his lightsaber, which the Inquisitors had collected when they’d captured him.

“You will use it for training.” Vader had said after he’d handed Luke the green beamed weapon, when he’d noticed the boy looking at him, confused, “ _If_ you behave yourself I may allow you to keep it at all times.”

Realizing that being in possession of his saber would improve his chance of escaping tenfold, Luke resolved to try and act compliant, because even though this would prolong his unwanted stay, it would also give him more time to plan, as well as provide him with more opportunities of obtaining sensitive information, especially if Vader should begin to trust him.

While Luke was facing off against the two droids, his father was sitting off to the side, observing, circling him and occasionally guiding or correcting him, Artoo at his side. Luke found it extremely surprising that, even though Vader’s expectations were astronomical, he didn’t seem to become angry at having to correct his stance or tell him to pay attention to shielding his side better. This was one of the things that had astounded him the most about his father these past few days, Luke realized, because although he knew that the Emperor was a Sith Lord, and his general disposition was imposing and cold, he was not as easy to anger as Luke would have expected, as Obi – Wan had said his father had always been. Well, not to him, in any event, because the day before, while he’d been trailing along behind his father, he’d witnessed Vader’s eyes turn the sickly Sith yellow of the Inquisitorius as he Force chocked a Captain who had displeased him, raising the man two meters in the air and squeezing the life out of him with an invisible fist without moving anything more than his hand.

Luke had been… terrified, to say the least, and, although he’d never admit it out loud, he wished he, too, would achieve the same level of aptitude one day, if perhaps not to kill his subordinates. Still, what he’d observed these past few days was that his father wasn’t the traditional model of a Sith Lord, necessarily (and he remembers that he’d heard he hadn’t been the most rule abiding Jedi, either), but rather he was somehow… _balanced_ , in a way, grey, not as evil as he’d been depicted, though certainly not good, either.

“Mind your footing,” Vader said, from somewhere behind him, as the droids had managed to surround him, “and shield your left side, you’re widely exposed.”

“There isn’t anything on my left,” Luke said, panting as he parried the droids.

Faster than he could blink, a red flash appeared in his peripheral vision, and he instinctually twisted around and raised his saber to protect himself from a blow coming from his left.

“Now there _is_ ,” the Emperor said, smirking slightly and pressing on a button on the remote in his hand, deactivating the droids and tossing it aside before circling his son, his lightsaber raised.

Vader lunged forwards, and Luke raised his saber to deflect his attack, before trying to land in a hit of his own, which Vader easily brushed aside. This went on for a few minutes, Vader still occasionally giving him tips. He was going easy on him, Luke knew as much, because otherwise, especially with how tired he already was, he would have been flat on his back on the floor in about 30 seconds.

After dodging yet another one of his son’s hits, Vader swung his lightsaber towards Luke’s exposed abdomen in a dirty, _dirty_ trick that almost sent him tumbling down on the floor, had he not used the Force at the last moment to propel himself back upwards and return the attack.

“Excellent use of the Force,” Vader said, dodging Luke’s weapon with practiced ease, “but you should learn not to let yourself be distracted, like now.”

Before he knew what was happening, Luke’s lightsaber had been knocked out of his hand, having landed a few meters to his right, and his father’s red one was pointed at his chin.

Vader deactivated his saber and offered his hand to Luke, helping him stand.

“That’s enough for today, I think. You’ve done well.”

And although he would never admit it, Luke found an unusually warm, pleasant feeling swirling in his chest at his father’s praise.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you're enjoying reading this fic. This chapter is a bit shorter and a bit more of a filler than usual, but I still hope you like it.
> 
> Have I said I really don't know where this fic is going?

Luke turned to the right, poking his head around a corner to see yet another exit towards the palace gardens, situated in the inner courtyard. It’s been a week since he’d met his father, and Vader had given him permission to access most parts of the palace, so long as he ‘behaved himself’, which, he knew, obviously meant that he should better not try to leave or to contact the Alliance if he wanted to continue to enjoy his relative freedom and perhaps gain some more privileges.

So far, the Emperor had given him Artoo and he’d shown him some of the places where he could spend his time, such as the library, which was equipped with both numerous datapads and books – made out of _real_ flimsipaper! – and was four times as big as the mess hall on Home One. However, aside from during their daily training sessions, Vader still didn’t let him keep his lightsaber.

Vader definitely had a temper, he noticed during the past week, but he could also be… _nice_ , Luke supposed, fatherly, especially during training, which he’d come to enjoy, despite the fact that it was difficult, even though he would never admit it out loud. He was certain Vader knew, though, if the hand that lingered on his shoulder after they sparred or the almost soft looks he sometimes received were anything to go by, in any case. However, this did definitely not mean that Luke could get away with anything his father even remotely disapproved of. The day before, for example, Luke had managed to sneak away from Vader’s side for a few minutes while he was distracted talking to some officer or the other. He’d only managed to glimpse at a public part of the palace that he was pretty sure he was not allowed to access before he felt a stern, annoyed poke being sent his way through the Force bond he shared with his father, and when he turned around he saw the Emperor standing there, arms crossed over his chest and looking expectantly down at him.

“ _What_ do you think you’re doing, young one?” Vader had said.

“I… uh… I was just… looking?” responded Luke who, much to his chagrin, found that he couldn’t quite meet his father’s gaze, because the glare he sent his way at hearing his response made him feel like a petulant child as he blushed beet red.

Now, though, he was roaming through a part of the palace he had been explicitly allowed in, because even though Vader was currently in some meeting, Luke was certain his father would know if he was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, and although he didn’t like it, he realized he should probably try to stay on the man’s good side if he ever wanted to have a chance at getting away, so annoying him wasn’t really a viable option.

He turned right, having entered another wing, where not even the red cloaked Imperial guards were allowed. This was Vader’s private wing – and Luke’s now, too, he supposed, although he found it strange to refer to the Imperial Palace as his home – where his living quarters were situated, alongside the training room and a meditation room Luke had started using sometimes, too. There were a few other doors around, too, and while Vader hadn’t shown him either of them, he hadn’t made him feel as if they were off limits, either.

Curiously, and because he was getting exceedingly bored, Luke pushed one of said doors open, Artoo at his side, only to find… _a workshop_?

He frowned, stepping fully into the room and looking around, surprised. Inside, there were shelves and cabinets full of various tools and spare parts lining the walls, and there were a few benches and work tables around, too. The wall on the opposite side of the door mas made out of durasteel and looked like it could open, which probably explained how the TIE Fighter situated in the middle of the room had gotten there.

Aside from the ship, there were also five speeders in the workshop, some of which were in various states of dismemberment, and one or two looked like they had been produced sometime before the Clone Wars.

There were a couple of droids around, too, mostly training droids, and Luke recognized the one he had sliced in half during yesterday’s session in a pile on the floor. Besides that, there were a few various other droids in a corner, and behind them, deactivated and with part of his circuity open was…

“ _Threepio_?” Luke frowned as he took a step towards the golden droid. Artoo was already next to him, he noticed, and he was beeping happily, poking around his companion’s wiring with a sharp tool he had produced from his mid-section.

“Ah yes, I’ve been meaning to show you this room. My sources did say you are skilled in mechanics.”

Luke turned around to see Vader leaning against the wall next to the doorway, regarding him thoughtfully while fiddling with a hydrospanner. He hadn’t even noticed him come in, though he knew he mustn’t have been standing there for long. He was dressed in a loose black tunic, which still looked expensive, as did all of his clothes, but was much more casual than the robes he usually wore in meetings or when he made public appearances.

"I… yes, I suppose I am?” Luke answered sheepishly, still not used to getting much attention, and then attempted to change the topic of the conversation,“Where did you find Threepio?”

“On Endor, along with Artoo,” Vader said, walking up towards them, “I’ve been working on restoring his memories.”

“He’s had a memory wipe?”

“Yes, around the time you were born. He knew too much, apparently. Well, so did Artoo,” Vader said, and the droid in question paused his work to send them an affirmative hoot, “but then again, people don’t usually bother with astromechs.”

“You… _know_ Threepio? Luke asked, looking curiously up at the Emperor.

“Yes,” he said dismissively, “I built him when I was 9.”

At that, Luke’s brows shot up even higher on his forehead, but before he could say anything, his father spoke again.

“Come on,” he said, “would you want to help?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry it took a bit longer to update this chapter, but I had a bit of a harder time writing it, and if I'me being honest I'm not 100% pleased with it, but I still like it  
> Enjoy!

Luke looked around carefully, making sure there were no guards or Stormtroopers around before stepping out of the corridor towards one of the less accessed parts of the Imperial palace in the public lower levels. He moved quickly, trying to be as quiet as possible, with only a backpack full of clothes and his lightsaber hanging off his belt, Artoo rolling quietly at his side. After almost three weeks on Coruscant, his father had deemed him responsible and trustworthy enough to allow him his weapon, provided that he continue to ‘ _behave himself_ ’. He knew, of course, that if he were to get caught he would have to kiss the saber goodbye, and his relative liberty would also be diminished.

He was glad he was able to take Artoo with him, at the very least. He had briefly entertained the idea of bringing Threepio along, too, before realizing that he would probably give him away not only because of his highly recognizable look, but also because of his inane chattering and fretting, not to mention the fact that he had the annoying habit of telling ‘ _Master Ani_ ’ about everything Luke did, especially when it came to things his father disapproved of. 

Quietly, Luke turned left and, after making sure there was no one else around, scurried down the next corridor. Although it was hard for him to admit it, he had mixed feelings about going back to the Rebellion. Even though he knew he wanted to fight for the Alliance and everything it stood for, he was also conflicted about leaving his father and the relatively carefree life the man had provided him with.

His feelings regarding the Emperor were… _complicated_ , to say the least. Even though Vader was a Sith Lord (though not quite as maleficent as Luke had painted him to be before meeting him), he was also Luke’s father, the father he had always missed, the one he used to spend entire nights waiting for, watching the star filled sky of Tattooine and wishing he would swoop down from space and take him away, that he would no longer feel the grinding hole of loneliness in his chest. Therefore, he did feel more than somewhat guilty to be leaving him, not only because he had wanted his father for all of his life, but also because he could see that the other man was fond of him, and he had given Luke a lot more than was necessary. The clothes he had provided him with probably costed more than a Starfighter, not to mention the suite of rooms and the lifelike prosthetic of the highest quality. But what was more important than that was that Vader had trusted him, to a certain extent at the very least, he had to if he’d given him his lightsaber, and now, Luke knew, he was betraying that trust, and he couldn’t escape the rolling pit of shame that blossomed in his chest when he thought about it like that.

Luke sighed, running a hand through his hair and focusing on the task at hand, trying to banish those feelings into the deepest corner of his mind. At this time, Vader was attending meetings with his advisors, and those usually lasted a couple more hours, at least, although he had surprised Luke on more than one occasion by finishing in only about 30 minutes after he had left. He prayed this wasn’t one of those days, focusing on his mental shielding as best as he could. If his father caught onto even a silver of his thoughts he would instantly know what he was doing, and he would certainly be _very_ displeased.

He glanced to the side to make sure Artoo was still with him as he rounded another corner. Luke had to admit that he was somewhat surprised that the droid had agreed to go with him, considering he was loyal to his father as well as to him. The same could not be said for Threepio, however, because even though he liked Luke, he would ultimately always be completely loyal to his maker, which was why he’d had to turn him off and leave him in the living room before leaving, because the last thing he needed was to safely make it out of the palace only to have a protocol droid tell on him and get him captured again before he’d even had the chance to get away.

He turned left again, knowing he was now less than 200 meters away from the hangar he was going to escape from. He would have to steal a Lambda Class shuttle and make his way out of the planet before anyone noticed. That was the easy part, he knew, because even though that hangar was almost never used (and thus almost never guarded), it was situated next to others that were frequently in use, and no one would question the departure of a shuttle when there were Star Destroyers in the atmosphere, assuming it was a boarding party. From there, he would pull into hyperspace before the Destroyers could take notice of him and start asking questions. 

Still, Luke was glad to have almost made it out of the Imperial palace, because this was the best guarded and monitored portion of his route, and he knew that if he got caught here it would be extremely hard for him to ever get the chance to attempt something like this again.

He stopped for a moment, frowning as he thought he felt another presence behind him. Swallowing, he turned around, only to be met by an Inquisitor.

“You should not be here,” the Fifth Brother said, scrutinizing him.

Luke cursed under his breath, channeling all of his inner Obi – Wan and praying to the Force that this would work.

“I am supposed to be here”, he said, staring him in the eye, “the Emperor knows that I am here. He would be displeased to know you are questioning me. You may go on your way.”

Fifth Brother stared mulishly at him for a moment, and Luke could feel sweat pooling on his brow before the man spoke in a monotone voice, “Yes, your majesty, I will go on my way.”

Luke let out a relieved breath once the other man turned around and disappeared from his sight. He stopped for a moment, and then his eyes widened as he began to run towards the hangar, less than 50 meters away now. Although his mind trick may have fooled Fifth Brother, Vader had probably sensed him do it, and he knew his father may come after him any moment now. There was no time to turn back, he realized as he sprinted towards the shuttle, he had to hurry if he wanted to make it out of Coruscant.

He saw that Artoo had been following him out of his peripheral vision, and he pressed the button on the side of the ship, shimmying inside after the door had opened with a metallic hiss and closing it back a moment later. He tossed his backpack to the side, sliding into the pilot’s seat and turning on the engine. 

Luke panicked as he started to feel the dark entity of his father’s Force signature coming towards him, rolling with anger. He swallowed thickly before reaching towards the controls with trembling hands, holding onto whatever silver of hope he had left that he still had a chance of escaping. 

The shuttle took off, raising about 10 meters in the air, and Luke sighed in relief. He turned the control yoke to the right, heading towards the exit, when suddenly the ship jerked back strongly. He yanked on the controls again, yet he felt the ship being dragged back to its initial position, and when he looked down he saw Vader standing there with his hand outstretched as he pulled the shuttle towards the ground.

Even from this distance, Luke could see, his eyes were glowing golden.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Sorry, again, that this may have taken a bit longer to update, I've been a bit busy with college admission.
> 
> To be honest I wasn't 100% sure where I wanted to take this fic, and this ending is a bit _abrupt_ , I'll admit, but I actually quite like it.
> 
> Enjoy!!

Luke was sitting at the top of his bed, curled up with his back against the headboard and his arms around his folded legs. He sighed, laying a cheek on his knee, wondering what he was going to do now.

His escape attempt had failed, obviously, and spectacularly at that. Just when his ship had taken off, when he could _almost_ taste freedom again, Vader had shown up, and in less than a minute, all his hope of escaping had been crushed. He had never seen his father as livid as he’d been in that moment, when his eyes were golden and angry, like those of the Inquisitorius. The glare he’d leveled him with was enough to make his knees buckle, and immediately after that, Vader had firmly grabbed his bicep and started marching towards their quarters, pulling Luke along without even looking at him.

They reached Luke’s room, and Vader released the hold on his arm in order to open the door.

_“In”_ , he’d said, ominously, glaring down at his son, and Luke could feel sweat pooling on his lower back as he swallowed deeply, unable to look him in the eye.

That had been about 30 minutes ago, Luke thought, and since then he’d been sitting in his room. His father hadn’t attempted to talk to him, but Luke could still sense the swirling rage of his Force presence, even though he could feel the anger had diminished. Luke didn’t know whether that was completely true, though, or if it was just wishful thinking on his part.

Vader hadn’t even taken his lightsaber, he’d stormed out immediately after putting him in his room, but Luke didn’t even dare think about attempting to escape again, because there was no way his father wouldn’t catch him, and being armed wouldn’t do much to help him against the Emperor, in any case. Even though Luke had vastly improved his combat technique during their training sessions (his father had said that himself, although Luke would never admit to feeling warmth spread in his chest at the praise), he knew that Vader was still taking him easy, that the other man could definitely wipe the floor with him in less than a minute if he were to use his full strength. Not to mention that, if something like this ever came to happen, Vader would be less than pleased, and Luke shuddered to think about the consequences that would follow.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as his bedroom door opened. Vader slid in, still dressed in his more formal black robes that he’d been wearing when he’d gone after Luke, having just been pulled out of a meeting. He crossed his arms over his chest, stalking towards his son and seating himself at the foot of the bed.

“Luke,” he rumbled, and the boy reluctantly raised his head to look at his father. His eyes weren’t the same burning golden that they’d been before, Luke realized, as an unknown weight started to lift itself from his chest. They were the more familiar shade of icy blue, now, however Luke found that he couldn’t quite meet his father’s gaze, still outlined by annoyance and, what was perhaps even worse, disappointment.

“I want to know,” the Emperor continued, “I’d like you to tell me what possessed you to think that the stunt you tried to pull today would be a good idea.” He paused, taking a breath before continuing, “I am aware of the fact that you aren’t here of your own volition, and I have tried to make things manageable for you, as much as I could, as I saw fit. Why, _why_ would you do this?”

Luke took a shaking breath, looking up at Vader before speaking, “I… it’s… _complicated_ ,” he said, “I’ve always wanted a father, you know? I used to hope, to dream that you would come one day, back when I was a child on Tattooine, I used to wish you would swoop down from the stars and take me away, that I’d finally have a father”, he continued, his voice shaking slightly, “And now you’re here. You’re here and you’re my father and – and”, he sniffled, “and we’re fighting on opposite sides of a civil war and…”

Luke paused, slightly, letting out a whimper as he wiped his tear streaked cheek with the back of his hand, moving to sit in the edge of the bed, but still not next to his father.

“Luke,” Vader said, more softly than before.

“Nno… no, let me… say, please”, he answered, and Vader regarded him closely for a moment, squinting his eyes. “Now we’re… fighting… this war that’s cost thousands of lives”, Luke continued, “and… and… I know where you’re coming from, that the Old Republic was corrupt, but this”, he gestured, “this isn’t better. People don’t really get to choose, not anymore.”

Vader opened his mouth at that, but then he closed it again when he noticed that his son still wanted to speak, “And I know,” he continued, sniffling, “I _know_ you’re hurting, still, after my mother,” and Vader winced at that, looking away, “but she would not have wanted this - the Empire - and I don’t want it, either, I can’t fight for it. But I want… I - I want… _my father_ ,” Luke cried, “and if – if nothing else, I think we should at least honor my mother’s memory.”

Vader frowned, looking down at the carpeted floor before pinching the bridge of his nose. He stood up, arms still crossed over his chest, and started pacing the length of the room, once, twice… Luke’s gaze followed him carefully as the boy continued to wipe away the remaining tears from his eyes.

Finally, Vader stopped in front of the window on the other side of the room, facing away from Luke and letting out a sigh as he pressed his forehead against the cool transparisteel.

“Luke,” he breathed, still not turning around, “Luke… I must apologize,” he said, and his son looked up, confused, “I… have not... treated you as I should have, I haven’t been what I should have been, to you, and I… am sorry. You are… such a _brilliant, extraordinary_ boy.”

Vader turned around, then, leaning against the windowsill. He sighed, running the back of his hand over his forehead, tiredly, before regarding his son thoughtfully for a few moments.

“Do you know how to contact your Rebellion?” he said, then, and Luke nodded, evidently confused.

Vader closed his eyes briefly, swallowing and cocking his head to the side before reaching into a pocket of his tunic and producing a commlink. He tossed the device at his son, who caught it in midair.

“I… what?” Luke said, frowning, too shocked to fully be able to comprehend what was going on.

“Contact your High Command,” Vader said, “I believe it is time to make amends.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you have any ideas for this AU please let me know!
> 
> Reviews are highly appreciated <3
> 
> My tumblr is rrusi-writes, if you want to request something or juts to chat :)


End file.
